GARY DOUGLAS: DEEP IN THE WATER
Rebel rocker and Hall of Fame trial attorney Gary Douglas talks with Big Blend Radio about his highly anticipated new album DEEP IN THE WATER, along with his record-breaking settlements against chemical giant DuPont.
Gary Douglas has long been waging battle with the forces of greed and injustice, both as rebel rocker and as a hard-working attorney who spends each and every day fighting for workers rights and the victims of corporate greed. DEEP IN THE WATER’s remarkable title track reflects Douglas’ recent efforts on behalf of multiple plaintiffs battling DuPont for injuries sustained by the chemical giant’s illegal dumping of the dangerous chemical C8 into the Ohio River. Douglas spearheaded the milestone litigation, representing the unsuspecting communities along the Ohio River Valley to whom DuPont referred in internal documents to as “human receptors.” Much like the recent ruling against Monsanto in California, Douglas won a series of record-shattering settlements in the multi-district litigation, earning more than $700 million in punitive damages after juries agreed DuPont had acted with a “conscious disregard” for the health and well-being of the families living along the river in Ohio and West Virginia. “We connected all your dots/And we’ve become your worst nightmare/Agitators/And we’re rising up…”Douglas sings on “Deep In The Water,” using his extraordinary music to reaffirm his powerful message to corporations who destroy communities with little care for the men, women, and children who live there.
“I’ve spent my life trying to end the corrupt corporate mentality that has caused such harm to this country and the world at large,” says Douglas. “My work as a trial attorney enables me to practically defend the victims of their greed but it’s equally important to increase public consciousness about the harm these companies wreak on us all. Making music is perhaps the greatest way to raise awareness and inspire others to join us in the fight for what’s right.”
Along with landmark legal victories against such monolithic foes as Big Pharma and the tobacco industry, Douglas – who was inducted into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame earlier this year, joining such legal giants as Thurgood Marshall, Morris Dees, and William Kuntsler – has somehow found equal time to lead his Gary Douglas Band for more than four years, lighting it up night after night with blazing guitars, anthemic hooks, and a potent lyricism that rings out with its craft, confidence, and striking conviction.
DEEP IN THE WATER fully catapults The Gary Douglas Band to the forefront of Americana and heartland rock ‘n’ roll, its powerful themes and searing truths perhaps more relevant now than ever before. Produced and mixed by Niko Bolas (Neil Young, Warren Zevon) and co-produced by chart-topping songwriter/producer Darrell Brown (Keith Urban, Radney Foster), DEEP IN THE WATER sees the Brooklyn-born singer-songwriter backed by an all-star lineup of friends and fans that includes Southside Johnny and his Asbury Jukes keyboardist Jeff Kazee, The Mavericks’ Raul Malo and Paul Deakin, The Jayhawks’ Jennifer Gunderman, guitarist Josh Leo, saxophonist Nicholas Biello, and a host of Nashville’s finest session players. Songs such as “Nothing Ever Goes As Planned” and “Devil In Her Soul” reflect the deep rift in the very fabric of our society, a division and dysfunction that threatens to tear us apart without some unifying rallying cry to bring us together.
“I’m really proud and excited about this record,” Douglas says. “I feel like a man on a mission. I’m hoping it will resonate with people and give them something to which they can relate.”
Douglas has long earned attention for his resonant songcraft and unique take on Americana, beginning with 2014’s debut album, JUST ANOTHER MILE, and swiftly followed by The Gary Douglas Band’s 2016 breakthrough, KEEPIN’ FAITH. Known far and wide as an electrifying and unstoppably vital live outfit, The Gary Douglas Band is celebrating DEEP IN THE WATER with a wide-ranging series of U.S. live dates. More at www.GaryDouglasBand.com
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